Vital Nutrition Blogs

Tea

It seems I’m on a beverage kick with posts these days, so I thought I’d continue on that streak by talking about coffee’s better half – tea.

As mentioned in the previous post on coffee, tea is the third most consumed beverage in Canada and the second worldwide. Canadians consume an average of 0.7 cups of tea per day. However, this number is rising because knowledge of health benefits of tea is increasing, as well as the increasing availability of specialty teas.

NOT oxidized! (This is believed to be the reason behind all the health benefits associated with green tea)

Light taste with light green color

3. Oolong tea

Most popular in China

Partially oxidized

Combines the taste and color of black and green tea

4. Herbal tea

Is NOT actually “tea”! Herbal teas do not come from camellia sinensis– the plant all other teas come from. These teas are made from fruits, berries, roots, flowers and herbs. As such, they don’t contain any caffeine or antioxidants like other teas do. (Kind of depressing really, they can be so tasty!)

What’s all the hype about green tea?

There have been a lot of studies and research lately about green tea and it’s benefits. I’ve heard many people say they swear by green tea and drink it daily. Green tea is the least processed type of tea and this is believed to be the reason for the health benefits linked to it. Some of the said benefits include:

Increases your metabolism, which in turn aids in weight loss

Helps regulate glucose levels by slowing the rise of blood sugar after eating. This can help prevent diabetes problems.

Reduces bad cholesterol in the blood

Reduced risk of high blood pressure

Has anti-inflammatory effects that may help with wrinkles and signs of aging

Increases mental performance

Prevents several types of cancers

Here is a great website with more information about green tea if you’re interested!